High-Tech Company Goes Low-Tech When Filming Crisis-Response Video 

PR pros worry about social media attacks billowing into a PR crisis. Sometimes, though, an innocent conversation on social can spur a crisis. That was the case with Avid Technologies. How Avid handled its crisis–promptly, simply, inclusively and authentically–is the story. It’s also a story about how a high-tech company went low-tech in a PR crisis.

A Massachusetts-based media-entertainment technology company of 1,500 employees, including five communicators, Avid designs film- and video-editing software, as well as concert hall sound boards, among other products. If you saw any of the 2022 Best Picture-nominated films, watch TV or attend concerts, you’ve likely experienced Avid technology.

Rebooting Ad Infinitum

In late-September 2019, editors using Avid’s Media Composer, on Mac computers, were unable to get it to reboot.

Avid enjoys an enviable leadership position, especially with professional film and TV editors. Unfortunately, when problems arise with a leader, news can spread fast. Indeed, film editors, a tight-knit community, immediately chatted on social about Media Composer’s problems during the evening of Sept. 23, 2019.